Ange Postecoglou Nottingham Forest Struggles Continue as Europa League Form Raises Concerns

Thursday’s Europa League match against Midtjylland led to a dubious Ange Postecoglou Nottingham Forest struggles record as the manager. After Nottingham Forest lost 3-2 in the match, Postecoglou became the first manager not to win a single match in his first six matches in charge of the club during the last 100 years.

Forest are playing in Europe after a long while, but the beginning has not been good for them. Nottingham Forest are in the relegation zone in the Premier League table.

Postecoglou almost led Tottenham Hotspur to relegation last season, as they finished 17th. He won the Europa League with them, but that did not do enough to help him keep his job. The Australian was sacked and only found a job after Nuno Espirito Santo was shown the door by Nottingham Forest despite having a good record as the manager of the club.

It is now appearing to be a questionable decision, to say the least. Nuno made his team play really well last season, and they narrowly missed out on a UEFA Champions League spot in the end.

Ange Postecoglou Nottingham Forest Struggles Show Defensive Issues

Postecoglou has a tendency to make his teams play with a high defensive line, which can often be counter-productive. Nottingham Forest have lost three of their six league matches this season. Not to mention that Tottenham lost in more than 20 league matches last season.

Losing in that many matches clearly indicates a lack of cohesion and organisation in defence, which seems to be the hallmark of a team under Postecoglou these days. The Australian gives emphasis on playing an attractive brand of football, but that can hardly justify so many defeats in top-flight football.

In the end, it is a competitive professional sport in which the results matter the most. One simply cannot afford to lose that many matches under the pretext of playing attractive football. Hence, Postecoglou will have to take responsibility and do something about it urgently.

Most of the teams will fancy their chances of putting it past his team these days, which is not a good advertisement for his side.

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Nottingham Forest Europa League Form Adds Pressure on Postecoglou

Nottingham Forest Europa League form is adding more pressure on the Australian, who has already overseen a difficult start domestically. Forest will face their next two matches against Newcastle United and Chelsea in the Premier League. They will also play against FC Porto in a Europa League match in October, which makes the month a potentially tough one for them.

Postecoglou will have to make sure that his team goes through that set of matches without much more bloodshed. Even if they are not able to win matches, they will have to avoid defeat at least.

And, that cannot simply be done by being gung-ho in their approach all the time. It calls for some pragmatism and flexibility, which are necessary attributes in football management these days.

It remains to be seen whether Postecoglou is able to get his act together. Otherwise, he might find it really difficult to continue as the Nottingham Forest manager as well.

Main Photo

Credit: IMAGO / NurPhoto

Recording Date: 02.10.2025